Living Car Free - Chicago Visit- Car Free

Well, I asked about the feasibility of visiting Chicago car free and got many positive responses.
I'm here with no rental car unlike the others in my group. You Chicagoans forgot to remind me
to bring exact change for the train from the airport. I had to pay 25 cents to have $20 bill changed.
The train was slow slow slow compared to DC metro. It would just stop for no reason. But I got
downtown for 2 bucks. (and 25 cents). Not bad. I see a lot of bikes parked but not many ridden.
I'm down near that medieval looking thing the water tower? It looks like there are apartment
buildings around but what about groceries? I'll find out as I walk around I guess. I can't believe
these people rented cars, the hotel is just a few blocks from the work sites. So far this car free
experiment is working great.

You're downtown and want groceries??? :roflmao:

Just kidding. Check to see if the hotel you have has a concierge who can point you in the right direction. If not, perhaps someone at the front desk can assist.. I'm not sure if there is a full-size Jewel or Dominick's within comfortable walking distance from Michigan Avenue, but there may be some smaller scale food shops in an apartment building nearby.

BTW, the medieval looking thing? Yes, that is the Water Tower. Right across Michigan Ave is the other part of it that now houses a small fire department company.

I believe there are a few Jewels under a mile away. There is one at 1210 N Clark st and one at 550 N State St. both are within walking distance. I can't believe you are staying downtown and people rented cars its more of a headache than anything else. As far as people riding bikes need to come into the loop or go a little west thats where they all are. You are in the shopping tourist area so there arent a heck of alot of people that ride down there. I know I always make a point to avoid riding my bike that way.

You're downtown and want groceries??? :roflmao:

Just kidding. Check to see if the hotel you have has a concierge who can point you in the right direction. If not, perhaps someone at the front desk can assist.. I'm not sure if there is a full-size Jewel or Dominick's within comfortable walking distance from Michigan Avenue, but there may be some smaller scale food shops in an apartment building nearby.

BTW, the medieval looking thing? Yes, that is the Water Tower. Right across Michigan Ave is the other part of it that now houses a small fire department company.
Hey I found Potash and Trader Joe's all by myself. A native has given me some pointers too. It does seem touristy and I did notice more bikers a few blocks west of Michigan than on Michigan itself. I keep my eye peeled for Jewels when I walk down to the loop. The native said I should go down there to the "real downtown". I found this odd bike rental place all glass, I took pictures. There is some kind of bike storage club there too. After global warming kicks in I might enjoy living here. The natives say the winters are cold. I haven't seen the lake beaches but I'm sure palm trees would be an enhancement.

Hey I found Potash and Trader Joe's all by myself. A native has given me some pointers too. It does seem touristy and I did notice more bikers a few blocks west of Michigan than on Michigan itself. I keep my eye peeled for Jewels when I walk down to the loop. The native said I should go down there to the "real downtown". I found this odd bike rental place all glass, I took pictures. There is some kind of bike storage club there too. After global warming kicks in I might enjoy living here. The natives say the winters are cold. I haven't seen the lake beaches but I'm sure palm trees would be an enhancement.

Glad you found Potash. Get yourself over to the bike path along the lakefront and go for a long, scenic ride. When you head to the Loop, check out the bike station place near the Gehry amphitheater.

the train isnt normally this slow, they are doing a ton of construction and **** on it right now, and its very very painful to ride atm =p

Glad you found Potash. Get yourself over to the bike path along the lakefront and go for a long, scenic ride. When you head to the Loop, check out the bike station place near the Gehry amphitheater.
I think I found the bike station. This is interesting weather, snow, sleet, rain all mixed up and traveling in all directions at high speed. Big clumps of slush falling from the buildings. These huge buildings seem to funnel the wind too. The unpredictable gusts must be challenging when cycling on icy streets. I saw some cyclists jetting around this morning and not just messenger types. We pedestrians had a hard time keeping our footing on the bridge across the Chicago river. Right now the tops of the tallest buildings are in the clouds. The car people I work with didn't want to drive so they took a cab the few blocks in this morning- I walked. For some reason when I suggested we all walk back together at lunch, they agreed. One of the car people began whining as we crossed the bridge. I tried to cheer them up with my typical "Its refreshing!" mantra. Chicago is fun so far.

yeah the weather has been brutal today, ice was like daggers in my eyes.

Sorry for the weather, it is not normal for this time of year. There is also a Fox & Obelle gourmet grocery store a few blocks south and east of you at North Pier (Illinois street and the lake). Native Chicagoans actually don't consider where you are staying to be "Downtown." You have to cross the river to be downtown. The above poster was correct that our trains are not normally as slow as you experienced, but the system is old and they are in the middle of several major reconstruction projects on several lines all at the same time. Sorry about not telling you about exact change, most of us locals don't pay cash for each ride because we have smart cards onto which we load $20 at a time by machine or by credit card over the internet. You can get an all day or all week CTA pass for a reasonable fee from your hotel concierge which is geared toward visitors and tourists.

In the event the weather stays as bad as it is now and you don't want to walk downtown, you can walk west on Chicago Avenue to State Street (two blocks) and take the red line subway into downtown...much cheaper than a taxi and you will get to see some of our newly remodeled stations. If you want to get out of the tourist area, take that same red line train north to Fullerton and see our DePaul neighborhood, to Addison and you will see the wrigleyville neighborhood which is home to our cubbies and many bars, restaurants and some nightlife. Another great neighborhood to check out is Wicker Park at the North and Damen stop in the Blue line. You can transfer from the red line to the blue line downtown at Jackson. If you are downtown during lunch and have some time, there is a fantastic winter garden at the top of our library building on State street just south of the Jackson red line stop. Also, if the weather clears a little, you can see the lakefront parks and all the beaches and boatslips from the observation deck at the top of the John Hancock building (much prettier in the summer though) which is right near your hotel and has a better view than the Sears Tower. On Michigan Avenue downtown just across from the Art Institute near Monroe street is a Chicago Architecture Foundation storefront where you can sign up for any number of walking tours. They offer some after work hours.

Enjoy, I'm glad you are approaching our city with an open mind and are not afraid to ask locals questions. Once you make the first approach, we are generally very happy to help you find your way around.

Thanks Chicagobent, today is the only day when I might have significant free time to
get around. I want to at least see "The Loop" area. I notice from the map that many
important sounding buildings are inside the loop. Is this where the expression
"Inside the Loop" comes from? I've asked several Chicagoans and they don't know.
I used to think it came from feedback loop but that explanation comes from my
narrow minded engineering perspective. In DC they talk about "inside the beltway"
meaning either people who know about some government program or as a derogatory
comment meaning a program ignores the concerns of the rest of the country.

The tops of the buildings are still in the clouds so observation deck trips are out.

The chicago "The Loop" is named so because of the "El" trains that circle it in a loop. It refers to the downtown area. It has nothing to do with the known phrase "in the/out of the loop" if thats what you were referring to.

gwd,
Thanks for starting this thread. It is an interesting insight on how to see an area. My wife and I both like to travel this way. Fly into a place and use the mass transit to avoid having to rent a car. We have done it in San Diego, DC, Seattle and NYC. So far we haven't done Chicago...yet:D BTW you commented on the wind...they do call it the Windy City for some reason:rolleyes: ;)

Aaron:)

Well, today I walked for hours all over the place. I went to millennium park, the theater district, the scene of the Haymarket Riot, had lunch with an old friend from college who has been car free since moving here 20 some years ago. I'd rather walk around a new place before biking it. One thing that struck me is the lack of a self centered attitude among the people on the street or in the small shops. In DC or New York you get this aggressive vibe from too many people. Even the beggars downtown seemed more mellow than the ones in DC. Tomorrow I return home. From what I can tell, visiting Chicago car free is no problem at all. I came here to work though, so maybe a vacationer would feel compelled to rent a car if there are some Chicago attractions inaccessible by public transport or cab. Next time I come I'll head for some indoor attractions, for this first trip it was cool just to walk around outside. Next time I'll be asking for pointers on how to eat those "Italian Beef" sandwiches without dripping the juice on myself.

I came here to work though, so maybe a vacationer would feel compelled to rent a car if there are some Chicago attractions inaccessible by public transport or cab. . . . Next time I'll be asking for pointers on how to eat those "Italian Beef" sandwiches without dripping the juice on myself.

I enjoyed this thread. Thanks for starting it.

I can't really think of any important Chicago tourist attractions that one would need a car to see. The Bahai Temple, Cantigny, FermiLab, the Arboretum, the Rama Temple, are all easily missed.

I'm glad you found the Italian Beef sandwiches - are they uniquely Chicago. It's the only place I've had good ones.

I attached some photos that illustrate some differences between DC and Chicago with respect to car free living. The one labeled bikestorage shows bikes parked INSIDE the turnstyles of the commuter train station right downtown at the Clark/Lake station on the blue line. In DC bike parking is outside the turnstyles and until recently completely exposed to the weather. Look at the clean shiny floor. Nice.
The one labeled mabridge shows the wide pedestrian walkway across the Michigan avenue bridge. The walkway is so wide that I thought it might be a car lane when I looked the bridge from google earth. I was concerned that Chicago might be like DC and limit pedestrians to crossing only in a few widely scattered places. I expected pedestrian crossings to be narrow afterthoughts. The photo labeled bike center shows a bike rental center at millennium park. DC has some "bike the sites" business but not noticeable infrastructure. Behind this and down some bike friendly steps is a bike storage place with swipe card access. Apparently tourists can rent bikes here and go for miles along the lake or wherever. I prefer walking when exploring a new city but if I come back as a tourist I'll plan to rent a bike.